A video of an arrest by police officers in Hamilton, Ontario, is garnering plenty of attention after it was posted online on Wednesday. The YouTube video, which went viral in a matter of hours, shows police officers Mark Morelli and Chantal Wilson subduing and arresting a woman on Sunday, allegedly for theft. The scene garners a small crowd of bystanders, many of whom petition the officers to let the woman go.

“What’s going on?” asks the man holding the cell phone camera.

“She’s being placed under arrest,” Officer Morelli replies, struggling to subdue the suspect.

“She’s only a weak girl,” replies the cameraman. “You can’t do that, there’s no way you can do that.”

While the suspect delivers a truly Oscar-worthy performance, flailing and shrieking “He’s choking me!” and “I can’t breathe!” somehow at the top of her lungs, Officer Morelli pauses to turn to the camera:

“Make sure you hold onto that video,” he says, “we need it for evidence.”

That, of course, is the irony of the scene. While the cameraman seemingly thinks he is capturing police brutality in action, the video actually shows a fairly by-the-book arrest of a difficult suspect. The officers even go so far as to attempt to explain the situation to the crowd after the woman is placed in the back of a police cruiser:

“Our domestic policy is very specific. Without going into details, this young woman has broken the law and we were attempting to place her under arrest, and she began to resist.”

The cameraman, feeling the winter chill, asks to move the conversation inside. The officer declines, and continues:

“While it may appear very rough to you — I apologize you had to see that — I have the lawful authority to arrest her. I am obligated to arrest her. I can’t tell you why — and I’m really sorry about that — but she deserves some privacy too, as do the victims of her crimes.”

The officers in the video have received some much-deserved praise in light of the professionalism and courtesy they exhibited in a very challenging situation. But had there not been a recording, the only account of the scene would have be one of undue aggression toward “a weak girl” (I’m not sure what being a girl has to do with breaking the law, but never mind) from a group of biased and misinformed bystanders.

That’s not to suggest that police brutality doesn’t happen; a Toronto cop was just sentenced to 45 days in prison for assaulting G20 protester Adam Nobody. Back in September, a former officer lifted the veil on alleged brutality and corruption within the Edmonton police force. And one Toronto officer is now facing a second-degree murder charge in the July streetcar shooting death of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim.

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In many of these types of scenarios, the presence of footage has proven invaluable. Often, these videos do illustrate undue force on the part of the police, but sometimes — as in the case of the Hamilton arrest on Sunday — it exonerates them. This offers a compelling case for mandatory lapel cameras, which would serve to benefit both citizens and police. When police in Rialto, California were made to wear the recording devices, for example, a study showed that use-of-force incidences dropped by almost 60%, and complaints against officers dropped by almost 90%. For everyone, it seems a no-brainer.

Officers Morelli and Wilson were fortunate that there was a bystander recording the incident, despite his misguided intentions. Without it, they might have been facing an investigation, rather than commendation. Lapel cameras would significantly reduce that risk, especially when it’s really cold outside and bystanders move their cameras inside.

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